Life Is No Fairytale
by LJemima
Summary: Artemis Fowl's parents are having a party. And they're inviting girls. Girls Artemis' age. Needless to say, Artemis is not pleased. Until he meets a different girl, a girl who has eyes for a certain Prince. Ella.
1. A party, I hate parties

A/N: I'm hoping that Artemis is IC enough. Although, in certain situations who knows what he might do. This story excites me because it combines a few of my favourite things :). Not like it's obvious what those things are or anything...

* * *

Life Is No Fairytale

Especially when you're Artemis Fowl

Artemis Fowl sat in front of the mirror in his room. He adjusted his tie and glared at himself in the mirror. His parents were having another party, and again, they were forcing him to attend and make small chat with the guests. Worse yet, they had invited some of his "friends" from St. Bartleby's. He had no friends at Bartleby's. To make this party even worse, he had the sneaking suspicion that his parents had invited some girls his own age.

His mother had taken to quite often asking him about girls. Honestly, there was nothing to say. The only girls he had spoken to recently were Holly and Juliet, and occasionally Minerva. Not much going on there. Of course he and Holly once kissed, but it's not as if anything was going to happen there.

Artemis sighed. He sort of liked Holly. She was different. She was the fit one, the strong but emotional one. While he was the not fit one, the one that had trouble with his emotions, the one that could always hide emotions and reason things out. They fit well and they brought out the best and worst in each other.

But she was an eighty year old elf, and he was an eighteen year old human. Sure they could be friends, but never more.

So now his parents wanted him to go out there and chat and dance with girls who were all the same. They didn't like his appearance, but they liked his money. They didn't like his anti-social behavior, but they liked his genius. Or what they knew of it from rumors.

He couldn't possibly find the right girl here. Any girl his parents would invite would be the daughter of a rich, gold digger businessman. Artemis Fowl did not enjoy parties, and he had the feeling this would be the worst yet.

* * *

Ella's father had died about two months earlier. Her stepmother had been devastated, or so she thought. Ella had spent the entire funeral by her side, holding her hand.

Her father had been a businessman, not a CEO or anything, but he spent plenty of time traveling and pitching new product ideas to wealthy CEO. Her father had worked hard for what they had had.

Once the funeral proceedings had been done with, all the relatives gone, her stepmother had told her something.

"Your father left no money to you in his will, Ella," she had said, looking down at her with pity, "You have nothing."

At first Ella had believed her, her stepmother allowed her to stay in the small attic room and do chores around the house to earn her keep. Then she found a soaked paper in the yard, the ink running, barely readable.  
It read, My entire estate to my only daughter, Ella Brooks.

It was then that Ella realized what her stepmother had done. She had forged the will. The only proof Ella had of this was in the soaked paper in her hand, even as she thought, it ripped and crumbled. It was little more than shreds of paper, smeared with black and blue ink. Unrecognizable.

So she did chores for her stepmother; washed the dishes, swept, mopped. She worked nearly from day until night, until one day, a letter arrived.

Her stepsisters clunked down the stairs clumsily in their high-heeled shoes. One turned to where she was mopping, and sneering said, "Hello Ella."

Ella watched them continue down the stairs, dresses held up clumsily to prevent themselves from tripping over them. As if they need any help with that, Ella snickered to herself.

Her stepmother began to step, stiffly with her head held high, down the stairs. Her neck looked longer than a swan's.

There was a knock at the door. Ella's head snapped around to face it. Her stepmother stepped in front of her, reaching the door in four long strides. She opened it, instantly changed to the gracious host. It was almost comical, how her surly expression was instantly changed into a gracious smile.

"Why hello." her stepmother crooned, cocking her head to one side. "How can I help you?"

Ella craned her neck to see around the door. A small stout man with a puffed chest stood on the other side of the door. He had on a huge plastered banana peel grin. "Hello, Madam. I bring an invitation from the Fowl household for Mr. Brooks and his family." He held out a small ornately calligraphed envelope.

Her stepmother started. "Oh, I apologize, sir. My husband sadly passed away a few months ago." She turned her head away, winking at Ella.

At that moment, Ella wanted to spit in her face. Of course she would never do that. Her father had brought her up right. Always be polite. Love your enemies, were what her father had told her. She would follow that now more than ever.

The stout man replied, "I am so sorry for your loss, Madam." He paused, "Your family is of course still invited. The Fowls certainly hope to see you there."

"Thank you, Sir." Her stepmother replied kindly. She closed the door, instantly snapping Ella out of her trance and back to her work.

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A/N: Let me know what you think, write me a review please!


	2. Fairy Godmother? Really?

Chapter 2

A few days later, her stepmother's sharp heels clicked up to where she was working on the floor.

"Ella, I happen to know that you'd like to go to that party," she said in her sweet, sharp-edged voice.

Ella did not look up from her work. Sure, she had wanted to go to the party. She never had danced, and she was terrible at small talk, but any excuse to get out of that house was worth it.

"Ella, I will allow you to go," Ella slowly looked up at her in surprise, "If you can finish you chores and find a proper dress to wear." Her stepmother clicked away abruptly.

Ella worked hard all day, she really did. She cut any corners she thought her stepmother might not notice, and she waded through the attic until she found an old dress of her mother's. Of course the dress was a little too large for her, and very outdated, but it was her only option.

She had almost finished her chores when her stepsisters flounced frumpily down the stairs.  
"Why Ella, it seems you aren't ready," sneered one.

"Artemis Fowl wouldn't possibly speak to you in that outfit," snapped the other.

"And why would I want that stuck-up, genius boy to speak to me?" Ella snapped right back.

Her two stepsister sighed.

"Because he's rich, and a genius," said one.

"Because he's rich, and I've heard he has the most lovely blue eyes," said the other.

Her stepmother began down the stairs, she barely glanced at Ella.

"Oh Ella. I'm sorry you have not finished your chores," her stepmother stated monotonously.

Then her two stepsisters flounced out the door, followed by her stepmother, who locked the door with a dull thunk.

Ella stood abruptly, marching to the back door. Perhaps her stepmother had forgotten? It was unlocked. Ella whisked herself through the garden straight to the gate. Locked. She would never escape this house, not even for a few precious hours.

Ella sank to the ground, and cried.

* * *

Holly Short zipped through the sky, throttle completely open. This was of course against regulation, especially in a Mud Man populated area, but she didn't care. As usual.

She had come to complete the ritual. A mere hour earlier she had been sent on a shuttle to E1: Tara. She had bumped off a very grumpy gnome, everyone was antsy the night of the full moon. The river beside Tara would be so busy on the night of a full moon, she would have to fly to another river.

"Hey Holly, there's a large house ahead, big towers, better slow down." Foaly buzzed in her ear.  
"Alright." She grumbled. She had been keeping up a good speed. She pulled the throttle back about halfway, looking around trying to spot the house.

She finally spotted it, the large coned roofs were painted nearly the same shade of deep blue as the sky. There was a garden beside the house, surrounded by an eight foot tall brick wall. She could see a large tree, she zoomed in on her helmet cam. The tree was filled with acorns. She shielded, diving down to gather a fresh acorn. Who knew if she the first river bend she found would also have acorns? As she hovered beside the tree plucking an acorn free, she heard sobbing. She spun around midair. There, a few feet away, was a young girl, about sixteen. She had on old hand-me-down clothes and her long hair was tangled. She was curled up on the ground, her face hidden and her breath coming in sharp sobs.

Despite her best judgment, Holly was an emotional elf, and she truly wanted to help the girl. She looked around, trying to figure out why the girl was so upset. Then the girl spoke, startling Holly.  
But she was only sobbing to herself, "I will never be able to leave this house!"

Holly finally noticed the gate, it too was eight feet high, and iron. No one could climb that. She quietly opened the latch on the other side. Strange, she thought, who would want a garden gate that kept people in?

A gust of wind blew the gate open, and Holly saw the girl look up in surprise. She ran until she was just outside the gate, then turning, said, "If anyone is there, thank you."

Holly opened the throttle wide, catapulting into the night sky. There, she thought, my good deed done for the day. And the LEP have no idea.

* * *

Ella relished in the feeling of being just outside of the boundaries, just outside the house she'd been locked up in so long.

She would go to that party, not because she wanted to, but because her stepmother would see her. Her stepmother and stepsisters would see her there, dancing with the great Artemis Fowl. She couldn't wait to see the look on their faces then.

Ella was hesitant to go upstairs to retrieve the dress. What if the gate closed and locked, leaving her trapped inside the house forever? She heaved a heavy bench over to the gate, holding it open. Then she turned, running upstairs as fast as she could. She held her mother's old dress in front of her. It was definitely old fashioned, but it had a sort of charm to it. Anyway, it was her only choice.

She pulled on the dress sloppily, combed briefly through her hair, putting it back in a messy sort of style. Then she snuck downstairs to her stepsister's bedroom. On a vanity under a mirror sat mounds of makeup. Ella had never been able to wear makeup, except a few times when she took some from her stepsisters. Anyway, what was the point in wearing makeup when you were just working and sweating all day? She had no idea what all these scattered products were for, so she selected a safe one, powder. She quickly powdered her face, then lifting up her skirt, she ran down the stairs, out the back door, and out the gate.

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A/N: Chapter 2 of my second Fanfiction! I don't have definite plans to continue this one, so please review if you like it!


	3. Unfortunately, We've Met

Chapter 3

Artemis heard a knock at the door.

"Yes?" he sighed.

His mother entered, her face glowing with a huge grin on her face. She had a beautiful floor length dark purple gown on. Artemis decided he would attempt a smile, it was more of a grimace.

"You look lovely, Mother." Artemis said to her.

"Oh, thank you Arty, people are starting to arrive! Would you come downstairs with me now?" she gushed.

Artemis smiled again, feebly. "Sure, Mother."

The linked arms, and Artemis sulked. _Surely his mother wouldn't force him to make some kind of grand entrance? Surely she knew..._ He was interrupted from his thoughts by their arrival at the top of the stairs. _Oh no._ She had lied to him! His own mother!

The entire grand entrance was filled with people. They were certainly not just arriving. They were waiting for him. His grand entrance.

"Mother! Why in the world would you subject me to such ridicule!" Artemis had the feeling he already knew the answer.

"This is not ridicule, Artemis! And you are doing this so that you can make friends by showing off how debonair and handsome you are, Arty." Angeline beamed at him.

Artemis unlinked his arm from his mother's, and began storming his way quickly unnoticed down the stairs. The band, apparently having noticed him and his quick pace down the stairs, began to play furiously. A regal tune roared throughout the great main hall of Fowl manor, and Artemis could have sworn his face must have turned bright red.

Every single person in the building turned to look at him, to inspect him. He spotted a huge crowd of girls his age, whispering, huddled in the corner. Then the music started again, at a much slower pace, as his mother descended the stairs. Despite her embarrassment a few moments earlier, she was glowing. She walked slowly, carefully, and gracefully down the stairs, in a walk made of some strange mix of a model and a queen.

Then Angeline had descended, and they all turned on Artemis, eager to get a look at the strange, pale, reclusive boy they had heard so many rumors about.

"Hello, you must be Artemis Fowl," a hideous voice preened beside his ear. He whirled around in alarm.

In front of him stood possibly the most hideous girl he had seen in his life. Sure, she may have been naturally okay looking, perhaps even a little pretty, but her face was so caked with makeup it was hard to tell. She wore an extremely low cut blue sequined dress, and was teetering in sky high gold coloured heels. The gold, Artemis approved of. The dress, now that was just trying too hard. Her face was hard to look at, as not only was it caked with makeup but had streaks of sparkly brown, obviously meant to make her look tan, and turquoise eyeshadow to match the dress. In two words, the entire effect was blindingly horrible.

"Uh... Hello," Artemis replied, hesitantly, averting his eyes.

"I'm Prunella," she grinned, "So, I've heard you're a genius, I've never met one before." She crooned, batting her eyelashes furiously.

Artemis tried not to notice the small flakes of her makeup drifting off her face.

"Eh..." he paused awkwardly for a moment. "My Moth-"

She interrupted him before he could make his escape.

"Dance with me," she ordered, grabbing his hand.

Artemis nearly gasped aloud. Now he had to dance with this hideous creature? This party was even worse than he imagined.

Then, to make matters even worse, the band struck up a slow waltz. This posed many issues for Artemis. Firstly, he was not a good dancer, and most certainly not a good leader. Secondly, he recognized this particular tune, and it was at least ten minutes long. Thirdly, he could see his mother giggling as she whispered to the conductor of the band. Fantastic, this whole party was going to be at least five hours of torture.

* * *

When Ella first entered the front door of Fowl manor, she nearly gasped aloud. She didn't gasp because of the extravagant tasteful decor, in burgundy and gold, or because of the huge number of people making small talk on the edges of the room. She gasped because there, nearly right in front of her, her stepsister was dancing with Artemis Fowl, while tauntingly sneering at her. Her stepsister didn't seem surprised in the least.

They twirled, and again her stepsister was facing her. Her stepsister looked her up and down, making a horrible grimace. She shouldn't have done that.

Now Ella was mad. It wasn't often that Ella lost her temper, or was ever rude, even in the slightest. This was one of those rare times.

Ella marched straight across the grand marble floor, cutting off the dancing pair.

"My turn." She stated, staring coldly at her stepsister.

Before her stepsister could even comment, Ella had grabbed Artemis Fowl's hand, and was proceeding to drag him across the dance floor.

Artemis found it rather undignified.

* * *

Before he knew it, this girl had marched straight up to them and rescued him from that terrible girl. Now they were dancing. For the first time, he paused to look at her. She had dark brown hair, put up in a rather messy up-do. She wore an old fashioned dress, but it surprisingly suited her rather well. He noticed the way the dress draped elegantly over her hips, and how her feet moved quite rhythmically to the music.

Artemis checked himself. He most certainly did not usually notice these things. Then he looked up to her face. She had a rather pretty but plain face, and she wore little, if any, makeup. _A welcome change_, he thought.

She interrupted his thoughts, "Will you stop staring like that, please! At least say something. To think, I heard you were a genius!"

Artemis couldn't possibly think of a response to this. Girl's often had that effect on him, though not often for the same reasons.

He calmed himself, "I assure you Miss, I am indeed a genius. I simply didn't have a reply to your rather undignified outburst." Artemis always had a come back, if not right away, in a few seconds. Artemis removed his hand from the girl's grasp, turning to go.

"Excuse me, Artemis Fowl," she spat. "I guess I didn't anticipate your truly self-centered attitude and genius. See you, never." She stormed away to the other side of the room.

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A/N: Please review and fav. Criticism is encouraged. Also, please check out my original fiction at under the same name: LJemima.

Thanks for reading!


	4. Good Punch

Chapter 4

Ella felt like a wallflower. What could possibly be the point of being here if she wasn't the envy of her stepsisters?

She was about to get lucky.

A young man in a high quality navy suit with an expensive silk shirt underneath was walking straight towards her.

The visual effect of his outfit was not particularly pleasing. In fact, he resembled a peacock, puffing up his tail feathers and strutting.

That is exactly what he was.

He stopped mere inches from her face. He smelled of musky cologne, and honestly, Ella was trying hard not to gag.

"Would you care to dance, beautiful lady?" He enquired, his voice thick with a fake accent. It was somewhere between British and a coughing dog.

Needless to say, very unfortunate.

Ella hardly took notice of any of this. She was staring directly at her stepsister, who's face was shocked, red, and envious.

Ella turned back to him. She turned on the charm, her smile glittering as much as her dress.

"I would **love** to dance with you," she gushed.

His smile widened, and he led her across the dance floor.

For the first time, she looked up at his face as they danced. She was surprised to find that he was quite handsome. He had a strong jawline with thin, but attractive lips, which were stretched into a smile that revealed perfect teeth. He had a strong nose, and sparkling brown eyes, which gazed at her steadily, never shying away. He had long, dark eyelashes and eyebrows, and mousy brown hair.

For some reason, Ella had assumed such a peacock would be hideous. She sneaked a quick glance at one of her stepsisters who was dancing with a very large, old, round man. Ella sent a charming grin their way.

Ella looked back up at the young man. He still stared down at her. She found that while he seemed quite comfortable to simply gaze at her without attempting to make conversation, she felt quite uncomfortable. His eyes seemed to glance off her surface without making any connection.

Ella momentarily thought of the eyes of Artemis Fowl. His eyes had been blue and piercing, and seemed to see into her soul. Somehow she found she preferred that. Despite how handsome the young man she was dancing with was, his shallow stare seemed somehow, creepy.

"So," she muttered, "Is your family here?"

Finally he looked away, "Yes, over there," he pointed. "They are King and Queen of Kartburg."

Ella raised an eyebrow, "Would that make you... A Prince?"

"Why yes, I suppose it would," he replied. His tone suggested that he had known and bragged about that fact for years.

* * *

Artemis Fowl watched the two dance from across the room.

He leaned back against the wall in a fairly isolated corner, his arms crossed, a glass of punch in one hand.

Anyone who might have looked at him might have thought it was the punch that was quite sour.

That was certainly not the case.

That girl had called him self-centered. Then again, she had also called him a genius. He sighed. Both were true.

It had never bothered him before.

Then again, neither had the sight of a girl with another boy.

It was odd. This girl had been so rude to him, and so temperamental, yet he simply couldn't stop watching the two dance. They were gazing into each others eyes, twirling gracefully. His one hand rested on the small of her back, and his other held her small, thin hand.

It made him feel sick. He spat the punch he had just sipped back into the glass. Several people around him looked astonished and disgusted. He felt the same. That had been most undignified.

He kept watching them dance, his sour look being replaced by a glare as the boy sneered at him. He couldn't see Ella's face.

Then it all clicked for Artemis. He knew that boy. Prince... Prince Charming!

What a truly detestable name.

He had a detestable personality to go right along with it.

Artemis remembered what he had heard about this particular Prince.

He had been known to be quite the player. Every party and event he went to, he would meet a new girl.

He would scour the party, searching for the most beautiful girl he could find, and he would seduce and take advantage of her, using his charming looks, ostentatious clothing, and general wealth.

He couldn't explain it, but he couldn't let that happen to Ella.

After he thought about it, he realized his hatred for this idiotic Prince was definitely the reason. He would take great satisfaction in taking this girl away from him.

Artemis smiled his vampire smile.

He noticed the two had begun to leave, slipping out onto the balcony. Time to take action.

Artemis took a few steps out of the corner, and was instantly swarmed.

Girls surrounded him preening and swooning. Artemis noticed Ella's stepsister.

"Hello, Artemis." She crooned. "Want to go check out the balcony?"

Artemis took a deep breath.

The stepsister grabbed his punch.

"Did you get this for me?" She asked sweetly.

"Of course," Artemis grinned charmingly.

She took a huge gulp.

Artemis' smile widened. He almost laughed.

* * *

A/N: Please review if you are enjoying this story! I know I haven't updated in a while, but I figured it was about time.

How I love writing about Artemis. And the stepsister. She's hilarious.


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